The Cooler Master HAF series has arguably been one of the most successful case lineups in recent memory and the new HAF XM is hoping to continue that tradition. It is nearly as large as a full tower and packs an impressive list of features but it is priced closer to many mid tower chassis. To us that sounds like a winning combination.

I am a big fan of the HAF series to begin with, and I like the looks of this one. Definitely softened the HAF lines a bit, and took some ideas from other cases like the Corsair Carbide cases. I will have to wait until I get home to watch the video portion.

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I am not a fan of the look but there are some good ideas in the construction. Easily removed panels & lids, modular hdd cages that double as fan mounts, dust filters galore, ssd mounts, extra fan mounting spots......
What I would like to see is a dust filter on every spot that air can enter, such as side panels. All in all newer cases are heading in the right direction. ( big meccano sets)

Dimitry's biggest criticism of this case is the same as my biggest criticism with the 690II:

The power supply dust filter.

It's mounted between the bottom of the case and the power supply itself, so to thoroughly clean it one must remove the power supply. It's really an inexcusable design flaw that should have been corrected years ago. Coolermaster could learn something from Corsair about dust filter design, which is unfortunate, because really cases are what Coolermaster is known for...

Dimitry's biggest criticism of this case is the same as my biggest criticism with the 690II:

The power supply dust filter.

It's mounted between the bottom of the case and the power supply itself, so to thoroughly clean it one must remove the power supply. It's really an inexcusable design flaw that should have been corrected years ago. Coolermaster could learn something from Corsair about dust filter design, which is unfortunate, because really cases are what Coolermaster is known for...

Yuppers, even the likes of TT and Bitfenix got that one right.

-ST

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I haven't been keeping up with cases since buying my haf922, but this case looks like a gigantic step forwards from the 922. Either CM has shelled out a lot of time and money for R&D, or they stole a lot of ideas from competitor cases... but I love the design! As for the PSU filter, I don't know what there is to cry about. If psu's needed filters, they would have built in filters. They obviously don't, so the filter is optionally there for very dirty bedrooms, and I do not intend to locate my $1500 PC in a bedroom. I've been using PSU's without intake filters for years without problems, so I don't understand what there is to cry about?? Just remove the filter and don't use one lol.

My only problem with this is the hotswap sata pcb thing is green. Fuuuuuugly!!! Would it be too much to ask to make it black to match the rest of the case design?